HOYER: MORE DISMAL JOB NUMBERS PROVE AMERICA NEEDS NEW LEADERSHIP

Republican Job Failures Too Bitter a Pill for Voters to Swallow This November

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement this morning after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that job growth in July amounted to a paltry 32,000, far less than economists had predicted:

“These profoundly disappointing job numbers can’t be spun by the Bush Administration, though I am sure they will try. In any light, they simply offer more evidence that President Bush and the Republican Congress have failed to implement a working plan to create jobs and that America needs new leadership.

“When President Bush came to office he claimed that his tax cuts would be an economic cure-all. But the medicine he prescribed has led to a stagnant job market, crushing budget deficits, and weak wage growth. This will surely be too bitter a pill for voters to swallow this November.

“Millions upon millions of our friends, neighbors and relatives continue to live the sleepless nights of unemployment – even though the Bush Administration is claiming on the campaign trail that ‘we’re turning a corner.’ But the glaring truth is that our economy has lost 1.1 million jobs since President Bush took over. That’s the worst record of job creation since the Great Depression.

“The BLS also revised their job growth numbers for May and June down, for a combined total of 61,000 less jobs than had originally been reported. Over the past year the monthly average job increase has only been 121,500 jobs, which is well below the 300,000 Republicans predicted their tax cuts would create each month. And aside from promising increases in March and April, which are proving to be the exception rather than the rule, the average monthly job increase over the past year is a disappointing 78,000. No matter how Republicans try to gloss over the facts, voters know failed leadership when they see it.

“Add today’s news to the recent report from the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office that the deficit for fiscal year 2004 will be, at the minimum, $422 billion, and could be as high as $445 billion. Either way, it will be the worst deficit in our nation’s history. And on August 2nd, Treasury Secretary John Snow sent Congress a letter warning that the U.S. government would soon breach the debt ceiling for the fourth time since President Bush took office.

“Democrats have consistently fought for policies to spur economic growth with targeted tax cuts for the middle class and investment in our country’s states and infrastructure. We continue to believe that this is precisely what our economy needs today, and hope Republicans will finally join us to really turn the corner for America.”